Beverage mug and method for making the same

ABSTRACT

A beverage mug includes a beverage receptacle having a coaster recess defined therein. An elastomeric coaster insert is positioned in the coaster recess and extends outwardly from the beverage container. A method of making a beverage mug is also disclosed.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to beverage containers,and more particularly to beverage mugs.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Beverage receptacles such as mugs are commonly constructed withplastic or metal bodies to provide both ease of manufacture anddesirable insulating properties. Such mugs are commonly used incombination with coasters to elevate the bottom of the mug off thesurface on which the mug rests to prevent scratching of the surface, andto prevent fluid on the bottom of the mug from staining or otherwiseaccumulating the surface.

SUMMARY

[0003] According to the present disclosure, a beverage mug includes abeverage receptacle having a flat bottom and a sidewall extendingupwardly therefrom. A coaster recess is defined in the beveragecontainer. The coaster recess extends from the flat bottom and up aportion of the sidewall. A coaster insert is positioned in the coastersidewall such that a portion of the coaster recess extends up a portionof the sidewall.

[0004] The coaster insert may be constructed from a material which ismore flexible than the beverage receptacle such as an elastomericmaterial.

[0005] The beverage receptacle may be configured to include a roundedtransition wall positioned between the flat bottom and the sidewall. Thecoaster insert may extend up a portion of the transition wall.

[0006] Also according to the present disclosure, a method of making abeverage mug includes the step of securing a coaster insert into acoaster recess defined in a beverage receptacle such that the coasterinsert extends from a flat bottom of the beverage receptacle and up aportion of a sidewall of the beverage receptacle.

[0007] The coaster insert may be adhesively secured in the coasterrecess. The coaster insert may also be molded into the coaster recess.

[0008] The above and other features of the present disclosure willbecome apparent from the following description and the attacheddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanyingfigures in which:

[0010]FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a beverage mug;

[0011]FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the side of the beverage mugopposite to the side shown in FIG. 1;

[0012]FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the beverage mug of FIG. 1;

[0013]FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the beverage mug of FIG. 1;

[0014]FIG. 5 is another side elevational view of the beverage mug ofFIG. 1;

[0015]FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the side of the beverage mugopposite to the side shown in FIG. 5;

[0016]FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the beverage mug of FIG.1 showing the lid separated from the beverage receptacle;

[0017]FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7, but showing both the lid andthe coaster insert separated from the beverage receptacle; and

[0018]FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of the beverage mug taken alongthe line 9-9 of FIG. 3, note that the lid is not shown in FIG. 9 forclarity of description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Referring now to FIGS. 1-9, there is shown a beverage mug 10having a beverage receptacle 12 for holding a beverage fluid, and acoaster insert 14. The coaster insert 14 functions to space the beveragereceptacle 12 apart from a support surface on which the mug 10 isposition, along with providing resistance from slippage along thesupport surface.

[0020] The beverage receptacle 12 may take many forms and shapes withthe embodiments disclosed herein being merely exemplary in nature. Alongthis line, the beverage receptacle 12 may be constructed from any numberof components. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the beverage receptacle12 may be embodied to include an inner shell 16, an outer shell 18, anda base 20. A handle 22 is defined in the outer shell 16 therebyfacilitating use of the mug 10 by a user.

[0021] The mug 10 also includes a lid 24. Like the beverage receptacle12, the lid 24 may take many forms and shapes with the embodimentsdisclosed herein being merely exemplary in nature. The lid 24 describedherein is embodied as a “spill-proof” lid with a selectively sealableopening thereby allowing the mug 10 to function as a “travel mug.”

[0022] As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 9, the beverage receptacle 12includes a substantially flat bottom 26 and a sidewall 28 extendingupwardly therefrom. The sidewall 28 may be embodied to include a roundedtransition wall 30 positioned between the flat bottom 26 and the upperportion of the sidewall 28. It should, however, be appreciated that thebeverage receptacle 12 may be embodied without a transition wall 30.

[0023] The beverage receptacle 12 has a coaster recess 32 definedtherein. The coaster recess 32 is embodied to receive the coaster insert14. In particular, as shown in FIG. 9, the coaster recess 32 has a depthwhich is slightly smaller than the thickness of the coaster insert 14.In such a way, the outer surface of the flat bottom 26 is spaced apartfrom a support surface 34, such as a table top or the like, on which themug 10 is positioned (see FIG. 9). As a result, the coaster insert 14functions as a “built in” coaster for the mug 10. As such, the coasterinsert 14 may be constructed out of a material which is more flexiblethan the material from which the beverage receptacle 12 is constructed.For example, the beverage receptacle 12 may be constructed with a rigidplastic such as polyethylene, whereas the coaster insert 14 may beconstructed of an elastomeric material such as rubber.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 8, the coaster recess 32 extends from the flatbottom 26 up through a portion of the sidewall 28 such as, for example,the portion of the sidewall 28 defining the rounded transition wall 30.In particular, the coaster recess 32 includes a ring-shaped centralrecess portion 36 for accommodating a ring-shaped central hub 38 of thecoaster insert 14, and a number of outwardly extending recess portions40. The outwardly extending recess portions 40 extend from thering-shaped central recess portion 36 and up a portion of the sidewall28. A number of outwardly extending protrusions 42 extend from thering-shaped central hub 38 of the coaster insert 14. The protrusions 42are positioned in the outwardly extending recess portions 40 of thecoaster recess 32 when the coaster insert 14 is secured to the beveragereceptacle.

[0025] The beverage receptacle 12 may be embodied such that the coasterrecess 32 is formed into any one or more components. In particular, asis the case in the exemplary embodiment described herein, the entiretyof the coaster recess 32 is formed in the base 20. However, if sodesired, the configuration of the coaster recess 32 may be altered suchthat a portion of the coaster recess 32 extends upwardly into the outershell 18.

[0026] The coaster insert 14 may be coupled to the bottom surface of thebase 20 using any suitable method. For example, the coaster insert 14may be secured to the base 20 by use of an adhesive applied to one orboth of the coaster insert 14 and the base 20, by fusing and bonding thecoaster insert 14 to the base 20, or by using a mechanical connector tosecure the coaster insert 14 to the base 20. Moreover, the coasterinsert 14 may be molded to the base 20 within the coaster recess 32.

[0027] While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific exemplary embodiments thereof have beenshown by way of example in the drawings and has herein be described indetail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intent tolimit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on thecontrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, andalternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

[0028] There are a plurality of advantages of the present disclosurearising from the various features of the apparatus and methods describedherein. It will be noted that alternative embodiments of the apparatusand methods of the present disclosure may not include all of thefeatures described yet still benefit from at least some of theadvantages of such features. Those of ordinary skill in the art mayreadily devise their own implementations of an apparatus and method thatincorporate one or more of the features of the present disclosure andfall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

1. A mug comprising: a beverage receptacle comprising a flat bottom anda sidewall extending upwardly from the flat bottom, the beveragereceptacle having formed therein a coaster recess which extends from theflat bottom and up a portion of the sidewall, and a coaster insertpositioned in the coaster recess so as to extend outwardly from the flatbottom.
 2. The mug of claim 1, wherein the coaster insert is constructedfrom an elastomer.
 3. The mug of claim 1, wherein the coaster insertcomprises a material that is flexible relative to the beveragereceptacle.
 4. The mug of claim 1, wherein the coaster insert comprisesa ring-shaped hub secured to the flat bottom of the beverage receptacle.5. The mug of claim 4, wherein the coaster insert further comprises aplurality of projections extending from the ring-shaped hub and up aportion of the sidewall.
 6. The mug of claim 5, wherein at least aportion of each of the plurality of projections extends from the flatbottom to engage a surface for supporting the mug.
 7. The mug of claim1, wherein the coaster insert has a thickness that is greater than thedepth of the coaster recess such that when the mug is positioned on asupport surface, the flat bottom of the beverage receptacle is spacedapart from the support surface.
 8. The mug of claim 1, wherein: thebeverage receptacle comprises a base and a cylindrically-shaped bodysecured to one another, and the coaster recess is defined in the base.9. A mug comprising: a beverage receptacle comprising (i) a flat bottom,(ii) a sidewall extending upwardly from the flat bottom, and (iii) arounded transition wall positioned between the flat bottom and thesidewall, the beverage receptacle having formed therein a coaster recesswhich extends from the flat bottom and up a portion of the transitionwall, and a coaster insert positioned in the coaster recess so as toextend outwardly from the flat bottom and up the portion of thetransition wall.
 10. The mug of claim 9, wherein the coaster insert isconstructed from an elastomer.
 11. The mug of claim 9, wherein thecoaster insert comprises a material that is flexible relative to thebeverage receptacle.
 12. The mug of claim 9, wherein the coaster insertcomprises a ring-shaped hub secured to the flat bottom of the beveragereceptacle.
 13. The mug of claim 12, wherein the coaster insert furthercomprises a plurality of projections extending from the ring-shaped huband up the portion of the transition wall.
 14. The mug of claim 13,wherein at least a portion of each of the plurality of projectionsextends from the flat bottom to engage a surface for supporting the mug.15. The mug of claim 9, wherein the coaster insert has a thickness thatis greater than the depth of the coaster recess such that when the mugis positioned on a support surface, the flat bottom of the beveragereceptacle is spaced apart from the support surface.
 16. The mug ofclaim 9, wherein: the beverage receptacle comprises a base and acylindrically-shaped body secured to one another, and the coaster recessis defined in the base.
 17. A method of making a beverage mug, themethod comprising the steps of: forming a coaster recess in a beveragecontainer such that the coaster recess extends from a flat bottom of thebeverage container and up a portion of a sidewall of the beveragecontainer, and securing a coaster insert in the coaster recess such thatthe coaster insert extends outwardly from the flat bottom of thecontainer and up a portion of the sidewall of the beverage container.18. The method of claim 17, wherein the securing step comprises securingan elastomeric coaster insert in the coaster recess.
 19. The method ofclaim 17, wherein the securing step comprises adhesively securing thecoaster insert in the coaster recess.
 20. The method of claim 17,wherein the securing step comprises molding the coaster insert into thecoaster recess.